We Need to Pump the Brakes on Driverless Cars
We’re nowhere near proving that automated driving technology is safer than human drivers
Back in late 2016, Michigan became one of the first states to pass laws explicitly governing the testing and deployment of automated vehicles (AVs). Part of that package of new rules included the ability to test vehicles on public roads without a safety driver. Numerous states now have similar regulations in place, but they all have one thing in common. Nowhere in the United States are AV companies required to prove to local officials that their vehicles are actually safe to operate on public roads.
Training and evaluating humans who want to get a driver’s license in the United States is severely lacking compared to many other countries, especially those in Europe. Often the most challenging test that a teenager has to perform to get a permit to operate a two-ton vehicle is parallel parking. Demonstrating that they can adequately respond to an obstruction in the road and safely stop or steer clear is not part of the evaluation. That said, people do have to take a basic vision test and demonstrate that they understand the rules of the road.
In the United States, no such requirement exists for software-powered virtual drivers. While tens of millions of miles have been…
